Skyshell - A SoKai one shots collection
by Ejes
Summary: Originally made for SoKai week 2018 on tumblr, but some more SoKai might be posted in there later as well. A collection of short fics centered on Sora and Kairi.
1. Worries

_**Hi! The SoKai Week 2018 is currently happening in Tumblr, so I decided to write a couple of fics, that will be posted here. They were way too short to be posted as solo fics, so I'll collect them here - might add more SoKai OS later if I write some more! For now, 3 fics coming this week, starting with this one!**_

* * *

Mysterious Tower. Late in the afternoon. Sora was sword practising with Goofy and Donald, the three of them trying to improve their teamwork skills, when Riku burst out of the tower, frantic. Sora stopped fighting right away to look at his best friend, concerned.

"Riku? Is anything wrong?"

"Kai-Kairi."

"Did something happen to Kairi?" Sora's blood froze in his veins at the thought. Riku was out of breath, and nodded. "Hurry, before she..." was the only words he managed to utter, before gasping for air.

Sora threw his blade to the ground. Nothing else mattered now, nothing but Kairi. What could have happened? Wasn't Yen Sid with her? Weren't the Good Fairies with her? Wasn't Lea with her? Who could have hurt her, when she was with so many people? Maleficent? Xehanort? All the eventualities danced in Sora's mind, parasitizing his brain and making his heart race.

Never before had the stairs looked so endless. Never before had the Tower looked so high. It was as if he'd never reach the top. As if he'd never reach her.

"KAIRI!" He slammed the door open, finally at the end of the stairs. His heart was racing so fast, all of his thoughts focused on Kairi, a Cure spell ready, a Blizzaga next to it. Who dared hurting her?

And then, all of his worries vanished in an instant. She was there, in the middle of the room, the Three Fairies next to her, Master Yen Sid at his desk, and while she looked a bit surprised by the loud intrusion, she was smiling at Sora. And that smile could melt away all of his fears.

"Sora, you're out of breath! You didn't have to run, you know. It wasn't _that_ urgent."

"You-You're okay. You're fine. But Riku said…"

"Riku?" She frowned for a couple of seconds. "I did ask him to call you before I'd change clothes again, but…"

"Clothes?" Sora asked, now completely lost, still trying to breathe normally. Kairi chuckled.

"Yes, clothes! Look at that! The fairies gave me a new outfit as well! I also have plaid, so we're matched now. And it's got pockets! I wanted to know what you thought of it?"

Now that he could think a bit more clearly, he realised she wasn't wearing her usual pink dress. She had a different one, with a frilly skirt, plaid pattern on one side, plain dark on the other, and her hood had really cute cat ears. He took a step forward, then another, until being really close to her - and threw his arms around her, shaking.

"I was so worried… So worried. Thanks the Light, you are fine."

"So-Sora?" She put her arms around him as well, but she sounded worried now. He felt guilty. He had no right to worry her. He laughed.

"That dress is gorgeous. You look beautiful, Kairi. You'll always look beautiful, no matter what."

He squeezed her tighter, and so did she, and for a while, they forgot all about the world surrounding them. They simply hugged each other.

They simply loved each other.

* * *

 ** _Fin._**

 ** _You might wonder why Riku was being so dramatic: 1/ He knew Sora really would want to see Kairi in her new dress, so he rushed, and there are so many stairs his lungs just couldn't take it. He wasn't trying to be really dramatic at first. 2/Then he realised Sora panicked and decided to tease him a bit (since he knew Kairi was okay and everything)._**

 ** _Anyway, can't tell exactly when the next one will be posted, maybe on Thursday depending on my schedule and everything, but remember to follow the fic if you want to get notified once it is out! And feel free to leave a review, I read them all even when I don't reply to all of them ;)_**


	2. One More

_**On tumblr, I posted a fic I had posted here before, so I am posting something I only posted on tumblr in exchange! This fic is directly connected to Chachacharlieco's art on tumblr. Please check it out, even though I cannot link it here. The few words Sora and Kairi exchanged are coming from Charlie's drawing, and so does the whole scenario. I just put words on the drawings. It also refers the new addition to "Oath", KH3's opening song, that we received a week ago. (yes, these 13 additional seconds of lyrics)**_

* * *

The end was near. They both knew it. Would they win? Would they lose? What would they have to sacrifice? They had no idea. All they knew was that in a few hours, tomorrow perhaps, it would all be over.

Were they scared? Of course they were. Every inch of their skin, every cell of their bodies was shaking, terrified of the outcome of this fight.

Kairi watched Sora, walking in front of her. She watched him for as long as she could, because she did not know if she'd be able to put her eyes on him ever again. How broad his back was, how strong he had become! He had carried all of their burdens on his shoulders for years now, never complaining once. But she knew that right now, even though he wasn't looking at her, even though he wasn't talking, he was just as scared as she was.

She reached out for his hand. When would she be able to hold his hand again? He turned his face to her, and suddenly, she couldn't look at him. What if this was the last time they'd ever look at each other? She couldn't face him. She was too scared. Too scared of seeing in his eyes the same fear that was already in hers.

Slowly, very slowly, he put his hands on both sides of her hood, carefully letting it slide down. She finally looked at him. There was no fear in his eyes. No anger. Just peace, a very unsettling peace, and she understood that he was ready to accept his fate. She could see in his eyes how much she meant to him. She hoped he could see in her eyes how much he meant to her.

His hands still holding her hood, he gently pulled her closer, leaning towards her, his face coming closer and closer. And then, their lips met, as if they were always meant to be together. His hand moved towards her face, and her cheek fitted perfected in his palm, two pieces of a whole reunited at last. The kiss was soft, gentle. Natural. Obvious. He moved his head backwards, their lips still barely a few inches apart.

"Kairi…" Even his voice was soft, a whisper only she could hear. "One more? Please?"

She smiled, giving him one more. She heard in his voice all that his eyes wouldn't show. He was ready to accept his fate, but he wasn't ready to lose her. And she was aware that she might lose a lot, but she wasn't ready to lose him, either.

Their lips locked in a delicate, yet desperate kiss, their hearts beating in unison, their minds sharing the same thought.

 _Let this kiss not be the last._

 _Kiss me once, Kiss me twice..._


	3. Homecoming

_**Here comes the last OS for the SoKai week 2018! As I said before, more fics might just pop in later if I ever write more OS about these kids, though ;)**_

* * *

"I'm a bit nervous." Sora whispered, as the three of them were standing next to each other. "Are you, Riku?"

"... Yeah. I guess I am. It's been a while, after all."

Kairi, standing between the two of them, chuckled as she put her hands on their backs, pushing them forward. "Stop being cowards. It's time to go before we're late. Come on, you can't be late on your first day in forever!"

"But, Kairi… We won't even be together!"

She rolled her eyes. "Sora, we managed to live worlds apart, so I'm sure we can manage going to different classes. Now, off you go, shoo, shoo!"

In the end, it was Riku who dragged Sora across the corridors of their high school, all the way to his class. Before dropping his best friend, he pinched his cheek. "Stop worrying. We'll have lunch together. And Kairi told us everyone was fine with us reappearing, right? It will be fine. See you for lunch!" He waved as he walked towards his own classroom, and Sora suddenly felt lonelier than ever.

He opened the door, and all conversations stopped, people staring at him. There was no official reason for their long absence. Kairi had promised that people's memories of that time were quite fuzzy, thanks to Naminé and the powers of Castle Oblivion, so people somehow remembered that they were not there, and yet never thought much about it.

But this was still the middle of first semester, and Sora's first day of high school ever. Of course this would catch everyone's attention.

"Oh, hey, Sora! Over there! Got you the best seat - after mine." He smiled at Tidus, relieved to see a familiar and friendly face. While he knew most of his classmates - this wasn't such a big island - he wasn't particularly close to them and they all had made their groups of friends already. Tidus welcomed his with a warm smile, and started chatting as if Sora had always been part of this class. And soon enough, the chatters started again.

They ate together at every lunch. Kairi was in Selphie's class, Riku, a year older, in Wakka's. Nobody asked them anything, nobody treated them as if they had skipped class. They all lacked some knowledge in every subject, but the three of them were smart enough to catch up quickly, using the notes of their classmates. They excelled in P.E., more than they used to. When students asked how come they were so fast, how come their reflexes were way above average, they answered with a shrug and a joke, and that was enough.

And yet, things weren't as happy as they seemed.

Not as happy as Kairi painted them.

They never talked about it. Never mentioned it. But Kairi knew that her friends had heard the same things she did - they had to. No one ever mentioned the fact that they had left for over a year. But they sure gossiped about it.

Kairi heard all kind of stories about that. While it was true that the majority of them didn't really recall them being gone, some still did - maybe those with the strongest hearts. They said the three of them had ran away from home. They said she had left to find her biological family, and Riku and Sora had ran after her. They said their raft sank and they all got in a coma for over a year. Some stories were just dumb. Some were crueler. Some said that their parents were beating them, which was why they ran. Some said that Kairi was in fact married to a man living far away and that she had been sent back to him. Some said they had done something terrible and had to run from the police.

At first, she ignored these stories. But as days went by, turning into weeks of gossiping, the tiny stabs caused by any of them soon wounded her heart, hurting her more than she'd admit it. Children were mean, teenagers were worst, and they were proving it to her. It was so unfair. They had no idea how much Sora and Riku did for this Island. They had no idea of how many sacrifices had to be done along the way. They had no idea, and they just made fun of Sora for being unable to remember the name of the capitals of this world, unaware that he had visited so many others. They had no idea, and they just made fun of Riku for always looking over Sora, unaware that he had been so close to lose him over and over again. It was so unfair.

"How can you both be so calm about that?" She finally asked one day, as they were taking their lunch break on the rooftop. "The gossips." She explained as they both looked surprised. "People are just so rude. I know we can't tell them anything, but… It's so frustrating! And yet, here you are, both acting so casually. How can you keep on smiling?"

Riku shrugged. "I just don't care. I won't let them affect me. I've been manipulated long enough to ignore them, not let them taint my heart with Darkness again."

Kairi lowered her head. She felt bad. Of course, this whole situation was nothing compared to how Xehanort and Maleficent had controlled Riku before. Of course he was stronger than that.

Sora leaned against the railing next to her. "I don't mind them either. Actually, I'm even happy to hear all their crazy theories in a way."

"Happy?"

"Yes. We get to live a casual life, where the worst that can happen is people gossiping about us. How awesome is that? We don't know how long we'll be staying there until the King calls us again. We can leave in a year, or we can leave tomorrow. So I want to make sure to make the most out of my time here, and ignore all the negativity around here." He chuckled, his gaze focused on the sky. "Call me dumb if you want, but I think it's a good thing they speak so much. It means that nothing worse is happening. It means that this world is safe. It means that we succeeded in saving it. And there's nothing I can be prouder of." He offered her one of his brightest smile. "But I can't help but wish for all of this to be over. That war, Light against Darkness. I can't wait for us to finally have some decent peace. Only then I'll be able to date you properly."

Kairi thought she misheard, that she confused his words for something else. Riku scoffed. She stared at Sora, eyes open wide. "D-d-date me?"

Sora chuckled, putting his hand on hers. "Yes, date you! You like me, don't you? Well, I like you too. Mmmh, no, that's not right. I don't _like_ you. I love you, Kairi. But with our current lives, we won't have our own space, so I think it's best if we wait until this is all over."

He carefully curled his fingers around hers, bringing her hand to his lips, and put a light kiss on her fingers. "I promise you, Kairi. While we might meet some more storms, we will build a sunny tomorrow. Together."

* * *

 _ **And now please excuse me as I stay screaming on my sofa, refreshing my twitter feed every 20 seconds because the Orchestra and E3 are closer than ever and the official Kingdom Hearts Youtube channel has planned 3 videos to be posted soon and my heart is not ready and I'm so excited and *dies***_


End file.
